Halo: Escaping the Flood
by Punner
Summary: The Flood are on Reach, unleashed by the Covenant. They are consuming everything in sight, but Noble Six seeks to escape with help from a semi-rampant Monitor in order to warn the UNSC and attempt to activate the 'Halo'. If only it didn't exterminate all life in a 25 million light year radius then Six might be more compliant.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: There'll be Another Time

 _"Go tell the Spartans, passer-by, that here, by Spartan law, we lie."_

Simonides's Epitaph

I looked up towards the sickly brown skies, clogged with Covie aircraft, as green and blue explosions danced in the horizon. There was no trace of the Pillar of Autumn, my mission was complete and now here I was, standing on a platform in the middle of a ruined UNSC base, a graveyard to my fallen brothers and sisters.

Gazing out, Phantoms and Spirits descended into the rolling dust storms. Great, they were dropping troops into it so I couldn't see their advance before they started peppering me with plasma. However, I could still hear their distant shouts and roars in their language. Even though I did not understand it, the tone made it clear. They wanted me dead.

I was alone, NOBLE team was gone.

Jorge, the big guns, sacrificed himself to blow up the Supercarrier.

Too bad the entire Covenant fleet showed up.

Kat, the brains, pushing me aside and was rewarded with a bullet through the brain.

Her death would be in vain.

Carter, the leader, went down with the ship after ramming it into a Scarab.

Another friend pulling off a heroic sacrifice.

Emile, the CQC, returning the favor to a Elite after being gutted.

His final words still rang in my ears.

 _"I'm ready! HOW ABOUT YOU!"_

And now me, the Lone Wolf, fighting solo on a dead planet.

Is this what being scared felt like? Tensed up muscles, fast, sallow breaths, rapid heartbeat. The knowledge you were going to die?

 _"No,"_ my mind growled, _" It's not my time. Besides, the Covenant is sending a farewell party!"_

I chuckled dryly. If the Covies want to wish me farewell might as well attend with the explosives.

And as the outlines of Elites and Grunts emerged from the dust, I tightened my grip on the rifle and the charred, palm-sized bunny.

 _It was the night before Christmas and all was quiet save for my house. A restless eight year old me sat crossed-legged as my Mom dug through the presents under the tree. I supposed she was tired of the excuse that four tiny little presents make up one big one and now took it upon herself to find one while my Father sat on the couch, reading the news with a grim expression._

 _Mom plucked a present the size of my hand and handed it to me. The wrapping gave little resistance from my vicious hands tearing it asunder. When the last piece flew, I held a stuffed bunny which caused a frown. How ironic. But that frown quickly turned upright when I heard a ball bounced and I looked over to see Dad dribbling a basket ball while still sitting. Mom rolled her eyes and Dad chuckled in amusement as I tried to steal it._

 _It was such a innocent time of ignorant bliss._

 _Mere hours late, I would witness my first Glassing._

I quickly shoved the bunny into my hard case on my right thigh and crouched low, shouldering the DMR as a group of Grunts led by a blue-armored Elite wandered below the platform. The Elite kept nervously looking around as if a ghost might pop out and scare him at anytime and when he was directly below me, I jumped with my feet touching each other.

The fall was silent and swift. I landed onto its head which gave a satisfying pop as bones cracked and blue blood spluttered. I then leaped off, allowing the body to fall to the ground and I heard the Grunts' squeals of surprised horror. I whipped around with my DMR ready and intending to end their lives.

They were already running away in all directions. At least I didn't have to deal with alien midgets at the moment.

I ran before they could give me away to other teams. Nearby was a parking lot and a couple marine corpses were scattered about. I needed to nab any ammo I could and if I had no other choice, I could always showcase Elite Slayer.

Funny how the first Elite I killed was the one who also sliced my mom. His expression when he remembered me as I repeatedly stabbed him with his own Energy Sword was worth drawing it out to let it sink in that the boy had grown up and took after his mother. I then took his sword and despite ONI wanting it for research, I used it on every Elite I could.

Till it ran out of energy, forcing me to hand it over so they could figure out how to recharge it. Then I took it back.

As I neared the lot, my eyes spotted a grenade launcher with a marine's hand still firmly clinging to it. I slowly walked over, constantly checking and rechecking all sides for any Covies. The only ones were the Grunts fleeing into the storm.

When I next to it, I fell to a knee and pried the launcher from his hand and still holding my DMR up, snapped it open to see if there was any ammo still in it. Thankfully there was.

I searched the rest of the bodies for any mags they still had. Mostly empty, but one or two bullets might come in handy.

 _"Thanks Max for teaching me how to identify bullet types."_

I sighed. If only he and the rest of my training team was alive. Jacob would be making jokes resulting in his ass being handed to him by Jane.

 _Weeks after the Covenant attacked my home, the chance at revenge presented itself in the form of a ONI officer. I took it without thought and sometime later, I had been assigned to Beta Company where we got our training teams._

 _I stood, facing the others in a diamond formation as we introduced ourselves. The first person up was a boy around my height and most likely the same age as me. He had a constant grin on his face as if he won the lottery. However, his eyes kept darting around as though someone would attack._

 _"Hello, I'm Jacob!" He said in a confident tone._

 _The next was a girl, half of his height, and the features suggested she was only six years old. She was shaking, in fright or excitement I couldn't tell, and kept moving her mouth like she was going to say something. She also kept rubbing her fingers and when she spoke, she stuttered._

 _"I-I'm Jaaaa-Jane."_

 _"Hello Miss Stutters!"_

 _"Do-Don't ca-ca-call me th-that!"_

 _"Ok Stutters!"_

 _She growled and already I could feel a fight was about to break out, but another boy, a head below me and seven years old, stepped in. He glared hard at each one, commanding their attention. He kept a neutral expression and said," alright, calm down you two."_

 _"And who made you bossy pants?"_

 _Before anyone else made a comment, I walked into his face as I had already grown tired of his pride._

 _"I did."_

 _That settled it. Max was our leader and I was his right hand. Jacob was the comedy relief and Jane was the fiery cracker. We went through Hell together, forging our friendship in fire but I was saved while they all burned._

I glanced up to see if there were anymore dropships delivering troops. Instead a cruiser was sending down a beam of light onto a mountain range.

"Wort wort wort!"

My attention was pulled down to see more Elites and Grunts emerge from the dust. They immediately began splitting up. One group consisting of a Split-Jaw and a trio of the midgets headed over to the first dead Elite. The leader's right hand went towards the neck of it and after a moment shook its head while I adjusted the grenade launcher and primed it to fire.

As soon as the Elite and the Grunts were together, I fired and dropped the launcher to run before they realize what just happened. Seconds later, I heard the explosion and screams of agony followed by angry howls.

I used the hit and run tactics I was fond of using. Find cover, pop out, shoot a couple of Covies, retreat, rinse and repeat.

Each kill was satisfying to me. Every crouch of bone, pained howl, and death rattle gave me a sense of victory. Every one that dropped dead meant one less for the Covenant and provided a silver of a chance for humanity to pull a victory.

But the more I slew, they were replaced by a stronger one and one less bullet to spend. The more that gnawing emptiness chewed at my very soul. Every SPARTAN I saw I was reminded of NOBLE or my old team, every marine was a life snuffed out.

After I had discovered Operation: TORPEDO and the fate of the SPARTANs sent there and the fate of my father I constructed wall to block emotions. Any attachments were deemed too risky, a friendship meant only sorrow, emotions could not be allowed. It was all for the greater good I kept telling to myself, the only thing that was important was the mission and mankind's survival. That meant putting down any insurgences that dared to be born and any leaders to be executed without trial.

Then I found my dad leading them.

 _I kicked down a door after blasting my way through a Mamore insurgent base. However, I was greeted by a hail of pellets and I snarled as my shield absorbed the force. Before my assailant could pump his shotgun, I shoulder charged him and we fell with me on top._

 _I rose and grabbed my magnum, ready to blow the man's brains out yet as I placed it between his defiant eyes, I recognized his face._

 _"Dad?"_

 _His eyes widened._

 _"Is-is that you?"_

 _I nodded._

 _"You're alive, by God you're alive!" He shouted._

 _I got myself off, allowing him to rise up and I realized how tall I gotten. He was a foot shorter than me, but he nonetheless charged me and I stiffened believing he was attacking me._

 _Instead, he hugged me._

 _And moments later, when he released his arms, eyes full of joyful tears, I cuffed him. His joy turned to a confused and betrayed look._

 _"Wh-what?"_

 _"You are under arrest for inciting a insurgency against the UEG," I impassively said. His shoulders slumped in response as I dragged him out of the base and into the hands of the UNSC._

 _At least he was safe in a cell on Earth._

 _CLICK_

 _CLICK_

 _CLICK_

 _"Shit."_

I dropped the DMR and ran as a white armored Elite gave chase, firing plasma from his Repeater. A building near the platform was my salvation and I threw myself through the window landing face first into the cracked concrete. The hiss of the weapon stopped then and the unmistakable zap of a Energy Sword reached my ears.

I scrambled to get up before the Elite could jump on me. I turned myself over just in time for it to vault over the window ledge with a raised sword and I reflexively snatched Elite Slayer from my right hip, activating it. The resulting zap must have confused it because it stood dumbly over me. I took full advantage by plunging the twin blades into its lower abdomen. The Elite gave a soft whimper and then it went limp. I threw it off and deactivated my sword.

And for a peaceful moment, I heard nothing. No Glassing, no angry roars, nothing. Just hopeful silence this was all a nightmare and I would wake up on a Falcon towards the Visegrad Relay with NOBLE team.

My mind drifted to them. I initially resented them and them me no matter how much they hid it. I didn't want to get bogged down by a team and they certainly didn't want Thom replaced. Yet the brief weeks we had forged a bond I could not quite explain. It was familiar though, as if we were… family?

Ironic how a bunch of killing machines actually managed to tear down that wall.

Now they were all dead.

And I was left with a flood of emotions I didn't know how to deal with.

The only solution I could think of was to brutalize the Covenant.

But don't they also have families?

No, murderers don't.

Aren't I a murderer too?

Expect I don't have a family anymore.

"DEMON!"

My solace was broken by the howl of yet another Elite.

I shot up as the Elite that had shouted charged at me despite having a Repeater. It brought it down low and swung at my visor. My brain sent a desperate message to my hand to grab it, but my tired nerves struggled to get it through. The weapon smashed into my helmet and the force caused a crack to form. I blinked when shards pierced my eye, eliciting a grunt of pain.

I also swore I heard a series of short, throaty growls. Was it laughing at my pain and misery?!

Before the Elite could take another swung, I furiously launched myself, head first, into its chest. The force was enough to send us to the dying, gray grass. Me and the Elite tried to recover before the other could, but I was quicker on the draw.

I unsheathed my combat knife from underneath my breastplate and shoved it with the force of a god into its neck. The blade pierced through the flesh, digging its way towards the jugular. The Elite, meanwhile, pounded its fists against the sides of my helmet and I growled at each hit that sent a annoying thud. However, every hit had a longer interval till there was no more. Once I was certain enough blood had been spilt, I ripped the knife out and wiped it against my arm. The purple blood dripped from the steel gauntlet.

I rose and picked up the Repeater. I took a deep breath and sighed.

Damnit, parts of my HUD were missing due to the crack. I had no way of knowing what my shield level was at unless it started beeping and ammo counted was gone. Motion tracker still had red blips moving towards me.

 _BOOM!_

My eardrums nearly ruptured from a explosion behind me. I looked up to see a blue blob arcing its way to my general position and I jumped, landing on my back as it smashed into the ground and went up in a ball of fire. Some of it splashed on my and I felt the heat of the plasma burn my armor.

Oh joy, the Covenant has deployed Wraiths. How long till they just give up and just Glass me?

More roars and shouts caused me to look around and to my dismay, golden Elites were charging out of the storm. I had fought only a few and those few proved to be deadly like the SPARTAN IIs. Now there were dozens backed up by Wraiths just shooting wherever I was.

Actually I could use those Wraiths.

And so another round of hit and runs began. However, as time went on, I started to become reckless and brutal. For the first time since Jorge's death, I enjoyed myself.

I poured plasma into the mouth of every Elite I could, bashed the heads of Grunts into pulp, and took their bloodied weapons as prizes to use. I descended into a madden laughter, chuckled at the Grunts' screaming retreat and smiled as a Elite bleed out. Eventually, I resorted to using Elite Slayer to slice, dice, and chop them away and when it ran out, I repeatedly smashed the hilt against their skulls till it popped like a piñata.

For hours upon hours this went on and they just kept coming.

I couldn't keep this up. My muscles yearned for rest, protesting at every move and I panted heavily as saliva filled my dried mouth. Every plasma bolt erected a pained snarl or growl of hate and anger. The armor I had once so proudly wore was covered in purple blood, burn marks, and pieces had fallen off. My visor had multiple cracks and I had to wipe away the blood often.

And like the Elites, those damned emotions kept coming back, but I accepted it. At first I had tried to crush them, to ensure I didn't become confused yet the more I fought the more I realized they were my only friendly companions in a sea of hostility.

Happiness was a burning fuel for the fire of hope which I was grateful for no matter how soon it would die. I was happy that I had friends and family and grateful for the short time we had. I hoped that our story, our struggle against a murderous force that wanted Humanity's destruction would survive throughout the generations so when people looked back, they would say this was their finest hour.

This was certainly my finest and last hour.

The fighting had driven me towards a barren hilltop. On the ground, I spotted a battered assault rifle and I picked it up as plasma shrieked overhead. I looked at the source and fired a dozen rounds into a charging white Elite. Bullet after bullet, the alien kept coming till its shields dissipated and blood spewed from its rounds. However, it eventually faced planted into the ground.

I turned to see a golden Elite wielding a Energy Sword try and grab me. I let out a deep, tired exhale while using the butt of the rifle to smash in its face. The split-jaw dropped, holding its jaws and I pulled out my pistol to shoot it.

Once I returned it to its place, as if on cue, the heat of plasma bolt seeped through my armor alerting me to even more Elites. I let out a dry chuckle. They really had to work on their aiming.

I returned fire, but that did nothing to halt the hail as a second one joined in.

The searing pain erected a grunt and my muscles roared at it.

Ignoring it, I wearily snatched the pistol from my hip and aimed it at orange one. I kept firing till both fell to the ground in the circle of bodies that was forming.

Yet another that had used the distraction snuck by. By the time I had noticed it, its face had already obscured my vision and I felt the force of a hundred, angry Elites push me down. The alien then wanted to stab me with its energy blades and I responded with a swift kick to the groin, but several hours of exhaustion, pain, and hopelessness had sucked me empty of any precious energy.

The Elite was simply thrown off.

And to add to the fun, a 'Zealot' dangled a Energy Sword over my head. I threw a fist into its face and surprisingly despite my drained strength, there was enough power to collapse the shields. I smiled in satisfaction as its sword flew through the air off to some place. That smile was quickly replaced by a snarl as the Elite from earlier came into view. I placed my arm over my head and when I saw its white helmet move onto my right side, I launched my elbow into its jawless mouth.

Before I could hit it again, I felt feet clamp down on my chest and forearm. I looked over to see a Zealot with 'eyebrows' staring down at me with what I believed to be a thoughtful expression. It didn't speak, instead allowing the surviving Elites to gather around as evidenced by the thumping of feet.

I sighed and closed my eyes in defeat. So this was it eh? This was the way my world ends, to be impaled by a Energy Sword. Soon, everything would be over.

Still, I smiled. At least I got my wish right? To get revenge against the bastards that took everything away from me?

 _"Nah, it isn't that,"_ I thought, _" it's just a part of it. I got to do things the average Joe didn't do! Went to so many different planets, met interesting people even though some were assholes, and to top it all off, I died giving Humanity a shot at survival. Guess my time is over then. NOBLE, friends, mom, I'll see you soon. There'll be another time."_

And I waited for the piercing pain that never came.

Instead, I heard the wet smacking of flesh and Elites' startled shouts. I opened my eyes to see no Elite ontop of me and I grunted as I forced my aching head to move up. I saw the Elite that were about to end me writhing and twitching on the ground as if it was in such great pain that all it could do were that. Occasionally I caught glimpses of something burrowing itself into its chest.

Using the drawn attention of the Elites, I turned and pushed myself up despite the pain that had engulfed every fabric of my being. I stood on wobbly, noodle-like legs and clutching my bleeding left side. I dragged myself towards the dust storms just as a otherworldly, monstrous shriek tore the air and the hiss of plasma echoed.

I didn't know what was going on, but I am not going to stay to find out!

But as I stumbled through the storms, my body began to shut down. Each step sucked whatever energy I had left and sent raging pain up my legs. Every passing moment, my eyelids grew heavier and heavier till it felt like trying to lift a warthog with a finger. Blood continued to tickle down from wounds caused by explosions or sword slashes, emptying my vessels that supplied my organs.

Everything was also oddly quiet, much like before a storm. The only sounds were the howling of the wind and my own labored breathing.

A peaceful moment in hell! Too bad I couldn't enjoy it since I was dying.

And just like that, I dropped perhaps after I took sixty steps.

I didn't bother trying to get up given all the damage that was done to me. It was over anyways.

Before I succumbed to the blackness, I thought I saw something blue hovering in the swirling dust.

 **A/N: Hola fellow Halo fans! Thanks for reading my story and I would appreciate if you dropped a review telling me what you liked and what you didn't. I'll also attempt to update the story every two weeks on Fridays, but I do prefer taking my time with this so please bear with me if you like this.**

 **Anyways, enjoy racking your brain about what is going to happen to Noble Six.**

 **If you're also wondering about Six's armor appearance, here it is,**

 **Colors :**

 **Primary-Steel**

 **Secondary-Maroon**

 **Head-MJOLNIR Mk. V regular**

 **Chest- Tactical/Patrol**

 **Left Shoulder- MJOLNIR Mk. V**

 **Right Shoulder- CQC**

 **Wrist- Tactical/TACPAD**

 **Utility-Hard Case**

 **Visor Color- Black**

 **Knee Guards- Grenadier**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Of Jolly Voices and Imminent Destruction

 _"One single Flood spore can destroy a species."_

Rtas Vadum

I groaned as my senses rebooted. The first thing I felt was that the all-consuming, raging pain had been replaced with a stinging ache. Beyond that was almost a pillow-like comfort that surrounded my entire body though the stone feeling that lined my back distracted that from me.

Then hearing came with a annoying, constant ring I would get from explosions. Not surprising since the Elites got grenade happy and spammed me. However, a cheerful babble and cooing filled my ears as well, giving some respite from the ringing. I heard it somewhere before, certainly wasn't a cat. It was similar to those floating alien things that looked like a worm-squid-turtle hybrid. Engineers I believed they were called. For some reason they liked to explode when I cleared out their Covie allies.

I could still smell death, decay, and dust now mixed with extra rot. Nothing new there.

Finally, I opened my eyes and the first thing I noticed was the lack of light. There was a concerning fact though, the light that did exist was a hovering mass of blue that looked awfully similar to a Engineer.

I immediately tensed up and my eyes darted around in fear of being captured by the Covenant. I wasn't sure what one of those floating aliens were capable of, but it likely was not pretty though as I took in my surroundings, there were no Elites or Grunts or anyone else other than a few pieces of Drones or a corpse. Also, a lot of rock had formed to create a cave and looking up, I saw a gaping hole in the ceiling. The skies still had that sickly appearance and the distant roar of a ship Glassing the surface echoed.

This was the cave system me and Emile took to get to the shipbreaking yard. Why was I back here?

Whatever the case, the Engineer had pulled me out from the brink of death so I owed it. Being saved by a Covie was going to make ONI lose their shit if they ever heard about this.

I rose up with surprising ease. Aside from the ringing, ache, and the stench, I felt fully rested.

 _"Recl-"_

A voice spoke through my comms, but the static that came with it made the ringing intensify tenfold.

"Gah!" I held the sides of my helmet. Wait, helmet, no cracks. What?

 _"I apologize, Reclaimer! It seems your auditory functions have yet to completely optimize!"_

"Who's this?" I asked wearily. It called me 'Reclaimer' and used computer talk that A.I.s were fond of. While it could have been one, I've never been called Reclaimer. The nicest thing I've ever been called by a A.I. was meatbag.

 _"Oh, I am Watchful Seer, monitor of the Forerunner base located on this world!"_ It replied happily.

Yep, it was a A.I. The tone was too jolly for it to be concerned with the world being brunt to cinder. It also said Forerunner.

"Forerunner?"

 _"Yes Reclaimer! I had honestly hoped that you would have the appropriate knowledge, but calculation proved otherwise. However, we are in imminent danger!"_

"So I've noticed."

 _"Then you have seen the Flood!"_

"The what?"

 _"The Flood! A parasitic organism capable of rapid metamorphosis after infecting a adequate host!"_

"I'm sure the Covenant can handle it."

Can't believe I'm putting faith in those bastards.

 _"Those buffoons?!"_

I flinched at the anger in his voice.

 _"THEY UNDERSTAND NOTHING! They care little for proper protocol and procedure instead unleashing the Flood with reckless abandon! Now I have a planetary-wide outbreak to contend with! So they can SUCK A DICK!"_

"That's, uh, some colorful words," I stated awkwardly. I never had to deal with a angry A.I. before.

 _"I am sorry, Reclaimer. I sometimes succumbed to my rampancy."_

"Oh great, I got genocidal aliens, parasites, and a insane A.I. that keeps calling me Reclaimer."

 _"Genocidal aliens?"_

"The Covenant. They've been exterminating us because their 'gods' say we're heretics."

A moment of silence past.

 _"WHAT?!"_

Followed by my ears popping at a roar equal to that of a Hunter.

 _"THEY ARE ELIMINATING RECLAIMERS?! Your kind are not 'heretics', but rather the Inheritors of the Forerunners! Complete disregard for my Creators' plans AND releasing the Flood from containment! If I had a foot, I would shove it up their asses! "_

It was scary how fast Watchful Seer switched from a happy person to a cussing, rage-filled voice in seconds. Its mention of rampancy was not comforting either.

"Alright, calm down. Is there a way in containing the Flood?"

 _"Yes Reclaimer. However, my calculations have a below ten percent chance of this current outbreak reaching sufficient severity for a Halo fire in all scenarios, but we cannot take any chances and therefore must warn the nearest Halo array!"_

"Fine," Six replied. Now he had a objective," where are you located?"

 _"There is a Forerunner facility underneath the mountain known to you as 'Malachite'. One of your own facilities is also located here, but heavy Flood and Covenant activity has made entry difficult."_

"I'm sure we'll think of something. I'll snatch a Covie aircraft and head towards Malachite."

 _"I highly recommend you make use of Huragok I dispatched to retrieve you!"_

I looked back to see the 'Huragok' wave one of its tentacles. Well, I now had a Engineer that somehow dragged me to the caves by itself.

"So there's no one else?"

 _"Unfortunately, all other surviving Reclaimer life readings have flatlined since your recovery. Scans have yet to reveal any hiding Reclaimers, but there is a one hundred percent possibility that there are others and every minute that percent goes down by point-five percent. If you should come across any injured Reclaimer, Light as Feather should be able to treat their wounds. In addition, it should also be able to repair or improve any technology it can access much like you and your armor."_

I blinked. To have such a asset was immensely beneficial. No wonder why they exploded. Damn Covenant wanted to make sure we didn't get our hands on them so they strapped bombs on them!

 _"I have also deployed a Promethean Knight to your location."_

"Promethean Knight?"

The next thing I knew, I heard a swooshing sound and a large, metal creature metalized in front of me. I fell onto my back in surprise when it opened its 'helmet' to reveal a _very_ human-like blue skull and roared(that also had human undertones, yay). From the ground, my eyes soaked in the detail and my brain tried to figure out how the detached limbs stayed afloat. The Promethean's body resembled much like that of a beetle and its blue lines that ran along it illuminated the cave.

 _"Your question has been answered Reclaimer."_

"Why did it roar at me?" I asked as I got up.

 _"Unknown. The Prometheans were created in the last years of the Forerunner-Flood war in a effort to eradicate them, but by then, the Flood had grown beyond all means of conventional contaminant and despite my authorization to deploy them on combat missions, I do not have access to their data They are immune to the Flood, however. This particular Promethean has been dispatched to specifically defend you Reclaimer. All one hundred others are needed to defend this Forerunner structure and sterilize the Flood presence."_

"Got it. So I'm their commander then?"

 _"Yes, but I can still override your command."_

"Ok then, let's go," I ordered and proceeded to walk in the way I remembered where a opening would led us to the road," also, Seer, I noticed that I have no weapons other than my Energy Sword."

 _"Ah, yes. Light as Feather has upgraded your equipment with Forerunner technology. Your reactor has been replaced with a Forerunner crystal which has a near complete efficiency rate. Now you can recharge any compatible weapons with your combat skeleton!"_

"That's useful. What's the-"

I was about to ask what was the Flood infection in the area like when I heard a wet, rapidly repeating smack. That was the same sound I heard when that eyebrow Elite was thrashing on the ground.

I think I was about to meet the Flood.

 _"Reclaimer?"_

"Possible contact, maintain radio silence."

I didn't want to give away my position with unnecessary chatter. I crouched, pulling out Elite Slayer, and hugged the right wall of the tunnel we were in. I could hear the clanking of the Promethean and the constant burbling of the Engineer bounce off the cave's surface. That would break stealth so I put two fingers together and pointed at each one before pointing to the ground telling them to stay put. Hopefully they could understand.

I resumed and thankfully they stayed put. I continued till I saw a bulky form in the shape of a human. However, the outline of what looked to be three long 'claws' led to a massive bump on its left shoulder. The head was also bent so far back that its neck and bone support had to be broken.

The rest of its features were shrouded by the dark, forcing me to turn on my night vision to get a better look and… shit, Emile.

There was no mistaking that skull ensketched EVE helmet.

Emile limped away from me and parts of his armor were missing such as the left shoulder plate. His steel and brick-red colored suit had been charred to black as night. His head disturbingly dangled on his back, seemingly keeping watch on his rear. Emile still had the shotgun, though he was now holding it with only one hand. I pictured him wielding it with both hands, tentacle arm on the bump and regular on the trigger. Other than the flesh growths and disfigurement, there was nothing else to suggest that he had been turned into a zombie.

Oh, jeez, I'm in a zombie apocalypse. I know some Marines that would be _thrilled_ for this.

Too bad they're all dead.

Or maybe they are alive, hiding someplace?

If there were others alive, I needed to find them and get the hell off this planet.

Weighing my steps carefully to avoid any unneeded noise, I snuck up behind Emile and activated the sword. The snap-hiss as blue energy formed the duel blades caused Emile to turn around, lifting its shotgun. Briefly, I saw a trio of tentacles with what I could only describe as roots attached to the ends. Said tentacles led back to the former SPARTAN's upper chest where the skin and armor had been ripped apart. In its place was a mass of decayed, squirming flesh.

I stuck the blades in its lower abdomen and got no response. No flinch or scream of pain. Just nothing.

Well, aside from getting whacked by its claw-arm alongside the head.

The force sent me flying into a wall and alarms blared, bleeding my ears and indicating my shields were near depletion.

Heh, upgrades. Sure.

I looked at Emile as he pumped his shotgun, somehow, and squared it at my face. A metallic roar echoed throughout the cave, however, followed by a swooshing and the mineralization of the Promethean. I noticed one new thing. It had a blue sword.

It swung and hit.

I let out a groan of baffled annoyance when Emile's shields flared up.

 _"How the hell-_

 _Questions later, kill Zombie-Emile now!"_

Before he could retaliate, I jumped up with both arms outstretched and grappled him. Emile let out a startled, distorted oaf as we fell to the ground. I held on tightly, braving the horrid scent of rot and slimly wetness of his flesh, but it was all in vain as Emile threw himself back up with me still attached. The Flood must have increased his strength because even a SPARTAN having a extra thousand pounds on it should have brought anyone down.

Then Emile showed me how he dealt with clingy, former friends, by running headlong into the stone. I heard the Promethean's roar and figured it must have been trying to line up a shot.

I hastily detected myself, allowing Emile to hit the rock. Then there was a piercing-like sound as a hail of orange comet-shaped projectiles peppered him. Once again the shields appeared, absorbing them all, but dissipating at the same time.

Unfazed, Emile then jumped the distance that could easily fit two of me between him and the Promethean with its claws drawn back. When it was close enough, it swung midair and a audible thud emitted from the robot's head as it snapped to the side. Emile brought up his claws once again, but by then I had gotten up and launched myself towards him, grabbing him.

"Now!" I shouted as Emile shook with all of his might to throw me off.

The Promethean obeyed, swinging its blade yet in a surprising act of intelligence, Emile bent over which allowed me to kiss it.

I growled as the force ricocheted in my helmet, but I held on.

By then Emile had decided enough of me piggy-riding on his back and dropped down onto his back. I let out a gasp as his own thousand pounds plus whatever else he weighed crushed me.

It was also a stupid move, as evidenced by the fact that the Promethean leaping onto Emile and thrusting its sword into the upper chest. I heard a pop and the body went limp, still ontop of me.

To say I was irritated and angry that Emile's corpse had not only rested on top of me, but also turned into a meat puppet was a understatement. The Flood was now on my list to kill, burn, and maim.

Damn them all to Hell!

If there is one.

If not, then every living moment shall be like Hell!

No, I cannot afford to become like the Covenant.

From my downed positing, I saw the Promethean twist its blade and the snap and crack of bone followed. A moment later, I felt Emile being lifted off of me and I watched as he was thrown like garbage. I growled at it. Sure Emile may have been a sociopath, but he still deserved to be treated like a human and he was my friend despite our differences.

The robot didn't respond. Of course.

 _"Reclaimer, are you alright?!"_ Watchful Seer's worried voice crackled over the radio.

"Yes," I replied as I got up," it wasn't the worst fight I've been in, but seeing a old friend turned into some kind of zombie-puppet… it doesn't bid well."

 _"Ah yes, Flood are masters in psychological warfare by utilizing descended or living allies. They can also reuse bodies if sufficient damage has not been dealt so we must dispose of the corpse! Thankfully the Promethean has been equipped for such measures!"_

I sighed. I was hoping to give Emile a quick burial yet if the Flood were able to reanimate the dead again and again then destroying his body might be the only way of giving him peace.

"Just give me a few moments."

 _"Of course, Reclaimer, but remember, time is of the essence!"_

I knelt down next to Emile's upright corpse and placed a hand on his chest or what was left of it. The tentacle-roots along with the flesh it was attached too had disappeared leaving a sizeable hole where it once was. I then moved about, putting Emile's hands over his chest and legs together. I also tried to fix his head as best as I could though in the end it was bent.

I stood over the body, trying to think of something to say. Something meaningful, not like those generic bullshit ones from the few movies I watched. For several minutes this went on and my two companions seemed to be getting restless, if their clanking and cooing were anything to go by.

With nothing, I just stayed silent as I replayed a memory.

 _I stood inside the darken bunker, worryingly eyeing Carter cradle Kat. Damned sniper saw a opportunity and took it. How she heard it and reacted fast enough was beyond me. I owe her, but I'll never be able to repay it._

 _The rest of NOBLE had dispersed to wait till it was safe. The civilians whispered fearfully or tried to give comfort that everything was going to be fine. I chuckled. I knew that their survival chances were low and even if they did survive, they had nothing. By the time this invasion was over, Reach would be nothing more than a molten space ball._

 _I took a deep breath and sighed. Such a pessimist I am._

 _Looking around, I spotted Emile sitting in a corner grinding that Kukri of his against his gauntlet. I wondered what he meant by honoring Jorge 'in his own way'. Knowing him, he'll probably snap a few Covie's necks and joke about how Jorge should have been there to see it. I still couldn't get over his trust over me though._

 _When I offered Jorge's dogtags, he refused. I had thought that, despite their bitter relationship, he would have taken them as he knew him longer than I did. Instead, I got to keep them. Was it a sign of trust? Or did Emile not want to appear soft in front of everyone?_

 _While I thought, I had unknowingly walked over to Emile._

 _"Well, isn't it Six?" Emile stated, breaking me away from my thoughts._

 _"Yes I am," I replied. A scoff followed._

 _"I sometimes wonder if you're either a SPARTAN or a machine."_

 _"Hm?" I raised a eyebrow. What did he mean by that?_

 _"Everything you say seems to be automated, like a robot."_

 _"This coming from a man who likes to murder things."_

 _The knife stopped grinding._

 _"Who are you Six?"_

 _That question caught me off guard. No one, not even Carter, had asked who I truly was. What did I tell him? A Lone Wolf assassin dispatched by ONI to silence terrorist cells? Or a SPARTAN made to be Cannon Fodder only saved because he was 'special'. Why was he even asking?_

 _"Why ask?"_

 _The grinding resumed._

 _"Because you never take off your helmet!" He laughed._

 _"Not like you do either."_

 _"Har-har-har, but seriously Six, I've never seen you without your helmet off. Never to eat or drink. Hell, you might even sleep in it. Scared a Grunt will catch you without your pants?"_

 _"Neither have you."_

 _Emile stopped grinding his blade and sheathed it. He then did something I didn't expect. He removed his helmet._

 _My eyes widened at seeing his brown skin for the first time and the tears that ran down from his eyes._

 _"I wonder, do you wear your helmet to cover your emotions?"_

 _My shoulders slumped and I looked down._

 _"Then I guess we're more alike than what I like to believe," he said and then looked at my right leg." Six, it seems you have your own fan!"_

 _"Huh?" I turned my head to see a girl, no more than the age of eight, wrapped around my leg. I could feel her trembling and yet I stared dumbly. This was new._

 _"What, big man can take on giant aliens, but can't handle a little kid?" Emile's mocking question burrowed its way into my mind. I never had to deal with children before._

 _"Can you get off?" I asked. She just clung tighter._

 _I sighed._

 _I put my hands on her and ripped her away from my leg. The girl let out a terrified squeak as I put her on the ground and placed my hands on her shoulders. I could feel Emile's eyes on me, waiting what I would do._

 _I had no idea._

 _"What's wrong?" I asked. That was the first thing that came to my mind._

 _"M-my mo-mom and da-dad, we go-got separated," her stutter reminded me of Kelly._

 _"Don't worry, I'm sure they're fine," I lied. The state of New Alexandra was as if Hell's legions marched through the city and burnt it to a crisp. They couldn't be alive._

 _"Really?"_

 _The stutter was gone and she stopped quivering. Her voice was filled with hope and eyes sparkled. Too bad they were going to be crushed._

 _"Yes. In the mean time, I'll watch you till they get here."_

 _"OK!"_

 _I sat down next to Emile and the girl crawled next to me and snuggled against my arm before falling asleep._

 _"Heh, he rubbed off of you, didn't he?" Emile chuckled as he playfully punched me in the shoulder._

 _I nodded._

We later found the kid's parents. Hopefully they all got off of Reach or at least died together.

"I'm ready," I said.

 _"Reclaimer, stand back!"_

I took a few steps back as the Promethean brought up its weapon and fired it point blank in the chest cavity. I watched as Emile disintegrated into golden ash. It was oddly similar to a pyre of old civilizations.

"Let's go," I ordered and we walked out of the cave's darkness into the scorching light.

 **A/N: Well that was interesting to write. Tell me how I did with the flashback! Also, I got done waaay earlier than I thought so I may move it to one week or even a few days if I keep this up. Anyways, thanks for reading!**

 **Also noticed that the name isn't fully on there so from here on out the chapter's names are going to be on top while the selection will just have the generic chapter 1,2,3 stuff.**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: To the Castle!

 _"All consumption is death for the consumed. Yet all must eat, so we bring damnation to one creature or another."_

The Gravemind

By whatever deity that exists, the Flood could drive!

Thankfully, very horribly.

I pulled the mangled corpse of a Elite out of a warthog and threw it on the growing pile of bodies. The Flood had ambushed us when we got close to the outpost by trying to ram a hog into us, but crashed into a boulder. After that, a dozen of those things recklessly charged from every side and a short firefight later left a dozen bodies to take care of.

One positive thing though, the Flood do not discriminate.

I watched as the Promethean blasted each Human, Elite, and Brute corpse into golden ash. The Covies got what they deserved, to be turned into the puppets they truly were, but I felt pity for my fellow man. To be mutated into the 'Combat Forms', as Watchful Seer cheerfully chirped, were sickening. They deserved rest for fighting against a ruthless enemy. Now we had a enemy that could make zombies.

 _"Reclaimer!"_

"You don't have to keep calling me that," I grumbled. Being called Reclaimer was starting to get on my nerves.

 _"Then is there a proper name for you?"_

"Six," I replied. It asked for my name which meant whatever reason it called me for wasn't important. Probably just to keep yapping about how time is of the essence.

 _"A number?"_ Seer sounded baffled _," that is dehumanizing!"_

A I. that cared about ethics and morals? What has the world come too?

Oh right, zombie-fungi and mysterious aliens claiming Humanity was the inheritors of their broken toys.

"Then just call me Noble," I came up with. That's how some remnant would survive.

 _"Hm, Noble,"_ Seer said as if it was examining a newly discovered species, _" there is a ninety-eight percent chance this is not your proper name, but due to current circumstances, it will suffice. However, when permitted, I request your proper name."_

I growled. I never told anyone my real name since training. That ignorant kid was dead.

Not true, he lives on through my actions.

"I'll scavenge for supplies. What's the situation like?" I asked as I walked towards a semi-destroyed building. When I originally came here, parts of it were already missing. Now it looked like someone had planted all their bombs in one place and blew it up, leaving the entire left section nothing more than rubble.

 _"Current Flood severity is at twenty-two percent. The Covenant has successfully isolated them into pockets and my Sentinels are dealing with any stragglers. However, the contaminant facility has been overrun. The possibility of a Gravemind is rising one percent per two hours."_

"A Gravemind?" I asked. I rummaged through the discarded piles of items and crates, rewarding me with a few cans of soda all tucked away in a crate.

 _"The Gravemind is the ultimate Flood intelligence. It coordinates all Flood spores to further spread infection as well as integrating the intelligence of other species."_

"Sounds menacing," I replied. I ripped a box's lid off and pulled out a shotgun.

 _"It is, Noble!"_

"Then," I pumped the shotgun," let's stop them."

 _"There is no reason to be all dramatic."_

"Let me have my fun. It's not like you're out in the wasteland with everything trying to kill you."

I heard a annoyed groan. I'm surprised that this A.I. could feel emotions at all and here I was thinking that all of them were cold husks of former Humans.

My search turned up little, as expected. All I had was a few sodas, a shotgun, and three shells for it. However, I had put all of the Flood's weapons on the back of the warthog and as I headed to it, I realized the problem that the Promethean was simply too big to fit. For Feather, I could attach a wire to it and drive, but how the hell am I suppose to carry the robot?

"Er, Seer, we might have a problem."

 _"Tell me Noble so I may calculate all possible solutions."_

"The Promethean is too heavy for the warthog."

 _"Oh, wait just one second."_

One second? That would be faster-

 _CRACK-SNAP_

I stopped dead in my tracks as I witnessed the robot use its sword to saw the turret off its support and then throw it onto the ground. The Promethean proceeded to pull back its sword and thrust downwards into the space between the seats and the back. I tried to figure out how it wasn't going to fall off when Feather drifted over, varying metal scrapes in-tentacles, and in a few seconds created a holding by piling all of it around the blade and fusing it together before hovering over it and latching on with all of its tentacles.

"Great, we created the joke-mobile. Just another problem, it can only shoot on its right side."

As if to mock me, the Promethean's back split into two much like a beetle and blue 'lava' erupted out as another robot shrieked out. This one was much smaller, about the size of a toddler or small child and had the uncanny appearance of one in Elite-styled armor. Two circular, segmented 'wings' spun creating a transparent field of blue which I guessed helped it fly.

I slammed my palm onto my visor in a typical facepalm. That thing could have been useful in dealing with Emile and the ambushing Flood.

 _"Noble, what is the matter?"_

"Why didn't you tell me the Promethean had backup we could have used?"

 _"The Suppressor-class Watcher was meant for rapid fire. In a enclosed space with allies, it could have caused unnecessary harm to you or your allies! Outside, the ambush was inadequate to be a threat so we could not risk the loss of the Watcher as it has various support capabilities."_

"I guess you're right about that," I said. I climbed into the driver's seat and turned the key. The engine sputtered to life and gave way to a steady hum causing me to smile. It worked!

I put some force on the pedal and readied for the jerk of the vehicle. The engine roared and then died in a sputter.

Taking a deep breath, I let my head fall onto the wheel forcing the horn to let out a loud, constant blare. Of course the Promethean was too fat for the warthog to handle.

 _"Noble, there is a one hundred percent possibility that the Knight is too heavy."_

I brought up my head and slammed it into the wheel.

 _"Noble, there is good news. A functional vehicle classified as a 'Elephant' is directly ahead! Be careful, however, as Sentinels have reported a skirmish between you and the vehicle."_

A Elephant? Despite its slow speed, not only might it carry supplies and the Promethean, but might also have vehicles if it was a repair station. Plus having extra armor always helps.

"Alright, let's move out then," I said as I jumped out and placed my shotgun on my back as well as picking up a DMR from the warthog. Feather also quickly ripped out the melded metal mound, allowing the Knight to leap through the air to the once previously closed gate.

I walked through it, looking for the cause of what forced it opened. Blue fires devoured a trail of metal leading to a crashed Banshee. Its nose dug into the ground and the canopy was opened, but there was no occupant. Either they fled or got eaten by the Flood. Not like it mattered, they unlocked the door for us.

We emerged onto a highway clogged with burnt-out or flaming vehicles, people's belongings were scattered between them detailing the panic they had, and dried blood with no corpse in sight told me what happened. Up ahead, I saw the highway broke off in two. One filled with a river of vehicles towards the Aszod shipbreaking yard in the distance. The other had dried up to only a handful all facing us. Obviously some civs thought taking a different route would save them.

Thankfully I had no intention of going to the shipbreaking yard. There was nothing there anyway.

We took the less clogged one.

As my little group trotted along, the distant rattle and hiss of gunfire became ever louder. At first it was like thunder miles away, not at all concerning. Then as we came closer, the thunder slowly transformed into a raging thunderstorm mere meters away and threatening to harm us.

When I saw blurs and flashes of blue and orange, I crouched down and gestured to my companions to stay put.

Quietly I used the sparse amount of vehicles or the misplaced barrier to cover my approach. Getting closer, I saw two dozen Elites firing into the Flood horde. Humans, Elites Brutes, and even Jackals and Grunts kept charging. The ones that had weapons utilized them expertly as if the owner was still alive. The ones without one mindlessly ran straight into the hail of plasma and kept going till they fell.

Among the horde were also swarms of little squid-popcorn creatures scurrying on their little tentacle legs while three with the roots swung about. Whenever a blob of energy smashed into their numbers, a large portion exploded in a flurry of green-tan meaty bits and mist. Now I knew the vector of the infection, I just wonder how they accomplishment such a feat when there were layers of armor, muscle, and bone to get through.

Then my eyes caught a sneaky little one moving under a SUV where a blue Elite was reloading its needle rifle. The form leaped onto the unsuspecting alien who only had enough time to drop the weapon and shout in surprise. I blinked as the creature latched onto the upper chest area by stabbing it with its tentacles. They then began to move about in a circular fashion as the Elite roared in agony. A moment later, it fell to the ground, writhing and twisting much like the Zealot. This time, head-sized bulges burst out and popped as the split-jaws mutated into one of the Combat Forms.

When the process was all set and done, the newly born infected Elite rose, bent down, picked up its rifle, and received so much plasma from the surrounding Elites, it became a mini blue sun. I partially wondered if that was its wish.

But I had the information I needed. Facing both sides would be downright suicidal. The only way I could think of was to toss a grenade and run, teleport, and float like hell through the hole. The Flood had only formed about three, disorganized lines so the force should be enough to create the opening.

"Seer, I got about two dozen Elites and three messy lines of Flood. Fighting them would just result in our deaths so my plan is to create a gap via grenade. Can you send the others to my position?"

 _"Noble, is there no other way?"_

"Hm, highway with a mountain on one side and a great fall to the other."

 _"The chance of success is fifty-seven percent. I'll alert the others."_

"Don't tell me the odds."

 _"But that is one of my functions,"_ Seer said sadly. I rolled my eyes.

"Just send them over. In the meantime, I'll get the plan ready."

 _"I recommend you wait for the Promethean Knight as it is equipped with a pulse grenade. The bigger opening will increase your chances by two-point-five percent."_

"When we have a lull, I want a detailed report of everything the Promethean can do."

 _"I will compile every function then."_

While I waited for Feather and the Knight to get here, I watched as the Elites slowly dwindled away. Bullets filled up their bellies, plasma scorched their skin, claws tore them apart, or subjected to the horror of being turned into one of them alive. However, the Elites fought tooth and nail, bitterly to the last one. They steadfastly refused to retreat and suffered for it.

I found myself enjoying their stupidity and resulting deaths.

My ears perked when I heard swooshing and I twisted my body to see both the Knight and Feather behind me. The Watcher was still floating about too.

 _"Noble, my estimates show you will only have a fifteen second window before the Flood recover from the shockwaves."_

That was actually a long time, more than enough for us to run through. I didn't voice it though.

I grabbed a grenade I had acquired from the ambush earlier while the Promethean lifted its sword, a electric, blue ball of energy coiling into it. We launched them into the air and they arced down into the middle.

Right before they exploded, I jumped out and my allies followed suit. A distorted human shriek alerted the others to us and half of the Flood horde turned its attention to us. Then, boom.

The highway shook as a explosion sent fire and shrapnel in all directions, engulfing the nearest Flood and peppering the rest. The Promethean's grenade sent a semi-circle of blue, causing them to stumble like drunks. So that's had such a large window.

Nonetheless, I madly dashed through the opening and I heard the swooshing follow. Not sure how Feather was going to get through. Likely just hover over them all.

We exited the horde just as it recovered and I didn't look back. Just meters away were the Elephant. Above it, the Engineer descended and went into the driver's seat on top. I used the momentum generated as fuel to fling myself into the back and whipped about with the DMR shouldered. To the left corner or my vision, I saw the Promethean mineralize on the second level of the vehicle.

The horde, meanwhile, gave chase to a lone Elite running to us. It waved for what I believed to wait for it and I could just imagine it shout, _"wait for meeee!"_

Not gonna happen.

I fired three bullets into the Elite's right knee. The first two slammed against the shield, causing it to collapse. The third erupted a waterfall of purple and it faceplanted onto the ground. I watched as the horde moved in for the kill and the Elite pushing itself onto its back to desperately and wildly fire its Plasma Rifle. The bolts smashed into the wall, but none fell and the wave of Flood engulfed the screaming Elite.

By then, I lurched forward, nearly falling off the Elephant itself. Looking side to side, I saw the landscape beginning to move faster and faster. That was when the Combat Forms began firing their weapons. Bullets sent dings vibrating though the air and plasma went up in balls of light, scorching the vehicle. Some hit my shields and I grunted at each impact.

If only the shields also stopped pain. At least the Flood were horrid shots. In retaliation, though, I fired at the Flood. I found myself with a spark of frustration as the bullets merely slammed into the Combat Forms who simply flinched. It took two to four to bring down the Humans, six for Brutes, and nearly ten for a Elite due to their personal shields depending on color.

Still, I fired as we moved faster and faster till I felt as though we were going faster than a warthog, leaving the infected to devour our dust.

Huh, I always thought Elephants were turtles when compared against other UNSC vehicles.

There was also the fact that the Promethean or its friend didn't help me with the Flood. I turned around to see the Knight facing me.

"Thanks for not helping," I said. In response, the Promethean's back split out and spewed out bits of metal and half of a burnt engine."You're also a pack mule."

Then I heard Feather's cooing and the Engineer floated from the second level. I watched as its tentacles picked up the scrap, weighing and bringing it up to its face, and either tossing them or coiling a arm around it. It didn't even look at the engine and went back up to the second floor. Now I know why Engineers were called Engineers.

But if Feather is upgrading the Elephant, than who's driving?

In all that time, I didn't catch a glimpse of the Watcher.

It was driving, wasn't it?

I went to the left and ran up the ramp to see that it was. I wasn't going to bother how it did such a feat. Being nearly killed, revived by a hovering squid, meeting robots of Humanity's 'Forerunners', and being engaged by parasitic popcorn in the span of what felt like hours, this was one of the lesser strange, but still helpful, occurrences.

But now we had a lull, a moment of fragile peace that could be broken by unholy fire or all-consuming flood.

I should have asked Seer to send the report over, but I instead slumped down against the sloped bridge. My hands went up to my helmet when I heard Seer complain.

 _"Noble! Do not remove your filtration device as the Flood spore could be airborne at this point!"_

"I just want some fresh air," I said and before he could respond, my helmet hissed as the locks were undone and I removed it.

And tasted the dusty winds.

I gagged. I felt a burning sensation in my throat as if my stomach was threatening to unleash vomit if I didn't put it back on. Breathing was like inhaling sand, crunchy and salty. Nonetheless, I braved it and flipped the helmet over to see what changes were made. Aside from its repairs, it appeared exactly the same when I first got it. Heh, never thought I got to wear the armor that the legendary SPARTAN-IIs wore.

Like Jorge.

I closed my eyes and sighed. Damn you, Reach needed you more than me, but what's done is done. As I put back my helmet, I thought back to when Jorge shared chocolate with me.

 _For the two days between the discovery of the Covenant on Reach and the Battle of Sword, me and NOBLE were sent out to combat the Covies and take out whatever bases they had set up. One particular mission had us clear out a supposed resupply camp that they had set up near Sword Base._

 _"House is clear sir," I spoke over the comms as I searched the building of the homestead. There wasn't anything here aside from toppled and torn_ _furniture, shattered dishes, and dead aliens._

"Copy Six, try to find that stash Intel suggested was here."

 _"Got it sir," Jorge's Hungarian accent boomed behind me," let's have a look, shall us Six?"_

 _I nodded._

 _I went over to a door and kicked it open. Inside was a messy bedroom that only had human objects such as discarded clothes that could fit a teenager and posters of a popular hip-hop singer. After messing it up more in a search for Covenant supplies, I walked out empty handed._

 _"Hey, Six, found some chocolate, want some?" Jorge said as he emerged from a hallway with a giant bar of the candy in hand._

 _"We are currently on a mission."_

 _"Lighten up, no need to be serious all the time. Even Carter has his moments like the time tried to sing."_

"I heard that," Carter's annoyed filled voice growled.

 _"Just trying to make the recruit feel welcomed sir."_

 _"We are still on a mission, that is a time to be serious."_

 _"Of course Six, but it feels like you're_ him, _John. I swear, sometimes he's like a machine. Even other SPARTAN-IIs are like that."_

 _"Really? Sorry then, but I rarely get a chance to relax. When the opportunity arises, I would like a piece. Haven't had chocolate in_ forever!"

"That's contraband!" _Carter shouted over the radio._

 _"Sir," I said," would you like for me to pull the stick out of your ass?"_

 _Silence._

 _I then heard Jorge's soft chuckle, Jun's attempt at stifling laughter, Emile's boisterous laugh, and Kat's mocking snicker._

 _Carter mumbled something, but over the varying amounts of laughter, I just heard his irritated voice._

"Hope you enjoy the shit then."

 _I internally laughed._

 _"ALL OF IT IS MINE!"_

 _All the laughing stopped when we heard a high-pitched voice roar. Me and Jorge ran out of the building to see a Grunt climbing into a Wraith I thought we had disabled with Covenant crates strapped to it. The tank whirred to life and white-blue streams shot out from its back as it sped away._

"What's going on?!"

 _"Grunt is driving a Wraith away with all of the supplies!"_

"I thought you said it was clear?!"

 _"This one is good at hiding."_

"Or you're just bad at seeking."

 _The chase didn't last long. The Grunt thought the only method of escape was to drive over one of the moutaincliffs._

A metallic thud greeted my head when it went limp and landed on the metal. I stared up at the skies as a Covenant cruiser Glassed some place far away, likely purging the Flood and Humanity's achievements.

 **A/N: We now move onward to Castle Base! I should let you know I haven't read the book, First Strike, but thanks to the wiki and summaries, I have a basic idea of what happened. Unfortunately Chief won't drop by(yet) so we're stuck with Dr. Halsey and whatever SPARTANs I might throw in. Oh wait, I just told you we were going to meet a mad scientist. Well, whatever. Anyways, hoped you enjoyed the story and do leave reviews detailing what you liked, what you didn't like, and the meh parts. Always looking to improve my writing!**

 **Guest: as seeing you don't have a account, I'll respond to your review the old fashion way! Thanks for saying my story was good and that Six's character is decent, it lets me know what I'm doing right.**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Into Hell

 _"Hell is empty and all the Devils are here."_

William Shakespeare

The journey to Castle base wasn't dull. The highway was filled with Flood jumping into the Elephant resulting in a short fight, Covies set up road blockades that got smashed by the 450,000 pound vehicle, a skirmish between the two sides that we had to drive through, or the occasional exploding vehicle.

I tightened my grip on the duel triggers of the turret position on the right end in anticipation of a fight which most of the time did happen. I also noticed a steady increase of Flood the closer we got to Castle. The Covies varied and I still had yet to meet these 'Sentinels' Seer mentioned. I would guess they were a scouting unit. Along the way I also asked Seer various questions.

"So why did the Forerunners even keep live samples?" I asked. Was it not better than to burn them all?

 _"My Creators were not certain that this was the only strain of the parasite, Noble. The portability of another species or more of the Flood is a ninety-five percent, so they tasked us Monitors to study the Flood and develop countermeasures. Over the course of the last 100,000 years, I have created… I really don't know how many."_

I blinked. If it was that long ago than why aren't the ruins nothing more than rubble? They must have had advanced metals to ensure that it didn't rust or otherwise eaten away.

"Alright, what's the current status of the Forerunner complex?"

The countermeasures can wait, it's not like they're going to help as of right now.

 _"The current Flood threat level is at fifty-two percent. The surrounding areas have a thirty-two severity rate."_

"Another question, what's this Flood threat level?" I asked.

 _"The Flood Threat Level is of my own design as my Creators were unable to create one due to the Flood infection. The Threat Level has various factors such as number of Flood, biomass consumed, and defensive level. Countermeasures are deployed as the threat increases and each one causes a increasing amount of damage. When the planetary Threat Level rises above fifteen percent, then the nearest Halo is to be fired."_

"What's Halo?"

It sounded like it came from Christian mythology, a angel was said to have a golden ring above their heads as a sign of their divine, righteous status. A religious Marine taught me that, by not shutting the fuck up. Too bad he received a Grav Hammer to the lungs.

 _"The Halo Rings, or Halo Array, is a superweapon designed to eliminate the Flood's food source."_

I took a sharp, sudden intake of air.

"That would be _us."_

 _"Yes."_ Seer calmly said. It didn't have anything to worry about since it was a A.I. and not made out of flesh.

"I can't allow that! It'll kill us all!"

 _"Noble, a single Halo Ring will only fire in a twenty-five million light year-"_

"Twenty-five million light years?!" I nearly shouted. Earth and most of Humanity's colonies could be within that space."I have a better plan. It involves lots and lots and lots of nukes."

 _"The Halo Ring is guaranteed to fully eradicate the outbreak."_

"So are lots of nukes, the controls of which just so happen to be at the place I'm going to."

 _"Then perhaps it is wise to utilize them as the outbreak is currently contained to this continent."_

"Then I'm expecting a disgruntled welcoming party of Covies and Flood."

Seer didn't say anything and after several hours of wading through bitter fighting, I saw Malachite Mountain tower over the barren, dusty plains. I didn't see anything around it, likely covered by the dust storms, but Dr. Halsey and Jun were supposed to be underground in Castle Base, safe and sound in a heavily fortified bunker instead of out here, unless they already evacuated.

I held onto the Gun's handles as I jerked about as the Elephant made a sharp, right turn down a ramp into the storm. Before we were engulfed by the hurricane-like dust, rapidly appearing blue and green flashes announced the heavy fighting that was going on. This was going to be fun making out the forms of Covies and Flood.

As we rode through the dust storm, I kept alert, eyes darting about, searching for any enemies preparing to jump us. My fingers tensed at every flash of light causing them to cramp a bit because it happened so often. Ears were perked, picking up the sounds of warfare. Plasma hisses and shrieks of rifles, the thunderous boom of tanks, screams and roars of the two sides, and the earth-shattering howl of Glassing off in the distance.

Ruined buildings past by, some seemingly untouched by the chaos and others were reduced to just their foundations. The metallic crunch of cars and vans reached my ears as the Elephant crushed them so we could get on through. For a moment, my heart sighed and then I had to remind myself that the owners weren't going to miss them. Still, some nice and formerly shining vehicles were flattened.

"Seer," I asked, "what exactly did you deploy to the base to contain the Flood?"

 _"The current defensive forces consist of one hundred Promethean Knights, two hundred Watchers, two hundred Crawlers, and one thousand Sentinels."_

"That's a lot," I whistled.

 _"It is still a insufficient defense force, Sentinels are only meant to contain small-scale outbreaks or as a supplemental force as a result of their limited A.I. and due to protocol I cannot upgrade it,"_ Seer said sadly.

"You have overwhelming numbers though, you could use that."

 _"I have attempted to utilize numbers, it has failed. My latest calculations have also increased the possibility of the Flood escaping this planet's atmosphere above fifteen percent in seven_ _scenarios. We must hurry!"_

"Yep, we're already hurrying because of the many life-threatening hazards."

 _"I am only stressing the importance of speed, Noble."_

I rolled my eyes. Yes, I was aware, but I didn't say anything, had to keep watch.

We eventually reached one of the mining shafts that served as a entrance for Castle Base. I wasn't going to ask how the Watcher knew where to go as we were here.

I stepped off the back, scanning the small outpost for any threats. The few structures here had taken serious damage with much of their support and walls torn away. Mining equipment lay scattered, partially buried beneath the loose dirt. The remnants of a last stand also remained.

Sandbags piled on one another had been punctured and sand flew out, discarded weapons were drenched in bloody pools with no bodies, and spent ammo casings stuck out of the ground. There were also metal pieces of what I presumed to be the Forerunner defenders given their silver surface and shallow lines. They were also covered in golden ash and mutated body parts, indicating that the Flood had fought here.

However, there was no movement, no Flood leaping across the distance or Covies charging out to greet us with plasma. No Humans stumbling out of their hiding places looking for protection.

I shook my head. Focus on the mission.

We walked through the outpost with little difficulty and the only threat we met was a couple of Grunts who generously dropped their Fuel Rod Cannons and ran off screaming into the storm. I picked one up and looted the ammo from the other as well as any other mags for the DMR and shotgun.

The search yielded only a handful. Two mags and four shells to last me a bit longer.

We arrived at the gaping opening leading downwards to pitch-black darkness. I took a deep inhalation.

Into the depths we go!

"HELP ME!"

Or not.

I stepped back from the distorted, agonized roar of the mine. That sounded as if it was the Flood yet it had nearly identical tones of a Human. What was it?

Then the answer presented itself by a flying Flood Combat Form.

I let out a startled scream as the body hit head first into my chest and I fell down with it on top. The Combat Form immediately rose up and brought back its tentacle-arm. I heard the click of the Promethean's weapon, but I knew that it would strike me before the projectiles could hit. Hopefully my shields could take it!

A moment past and the tentacle-arm kept going back and forth as if it couldn't decide if it wanted to smack me. The Knight also didn't fire, probably intrigued by its little waving.

"KILL ME!"

My eyes widened. It-it was alive?!

This complicated things.

"CAN'T-CONTROL-IT!" It half-screamed-half groaned. That was also when its arm went down, but I had enough time to recover and I wrapped my right hand around its wrist, using enough force to bend it. The resulting snap and crack of bone elicited a pained roar and the Combat Form dropped onto my visor.

Seeing sickly green flesh up close did not do wonders for my stomach.

I pushed it off and rose, shaking my head in bewilderment. My mind was trying to process how a person was infected yet still able to scream. The Flood I've met so far didn't do anything like that and the infection was nearly instantaneous. Was it sheer willpower? Were some Flood unable to fully infect a person?

The cause didn't matter; it was still a threat even though it lay on the ground, breathing heavily. It needed to die.

Yet there was still a person underneath all of that. They could still be saved!

But it also is in blinding pain if the scream is anything to go by.

"Help me."

I heard a whimper from the downed Flood Form. I raised my DMR and cautiously walked over, keeping the barrel on the chest.

"Kill me."

I lowered my rifle and looked at its face. The eyes were locked onto me and I felt myself shiver at the sight. Despite being infected, the man, guessing from its robust facial features, was still alive.

"Seer, we have a infectee still alive."

 _"I can see Noble via your helmet… I am still processing how this is possible."_

I raised a eyebrow upon hearing that. This was so disturbing that even a A.I. had trouble and we could talk about the whole seeing through my helmet later.

"Kill…ME!"

The man began twitching and the tentacle-arm went up into the air only to slam back down to the ground causing a explosion of dust. I jumped, bringing my foot onto the man's chest and bicep preventing him from attacking us while at the same time erecting a piercing scream. I flinched. I didn't want to hurt him, but was there really any other choice?

"Seer, what the hell do I do?" I desperately asked. He was a threat yet he could still be saved. Do I risk being spreading the outbreak or finding a potential cure?

 _"That is your decision Noble."_

Oh sure, leave me with the tough choice.

I closed my eyes. It would have been so much easier to kill him if I had still been a Lone Wolf. Damn you Carter! I growled at the memory.

 _I rushed forward, chasing the last Elite out of the homestead. Carter kept yelling at me over the comms to disengage. There was no further need. This one was bleeding, but I intended on ending this golden ranger._

 _I turned around a bend and found myself staring down a dozen Elites with the wounded one gripping its injury just above its hip._

 _"Hi?" I greeted._

 _They responded by whirring up their weapons._

 _"Get out of the way!" I heard Carter yell over the wheeling pop and I dove out just in time for me to witness him and Jorge crashing a civilian warthog through the group of Elites. Bodies and weapons flew while the vehicle went on to crash into the river._

 _I got up as Carter backed it out of the river for us to finish the surviving Elites. By the time we were done, I was in the passenger's seat with a fuming Carter._

 _"What the hell were you thinking?!"_

 _"Eliminating a HVT sir."_

 _"It would have bled out."_

 _"Sir, it would have regrouped with the others and received medical care."_

 _"And what happened? You nearly got a face full of plasma. You would be dead."_

 _I stayed silent. He was right, I could have died, but I didn't._

 _"Sir-"_

 _"Six, I said leave that Lone Wolf stuff behind, we're a team."_

 _"Carter, give Six sometime, the lone wolfing will disappear sooner or later," Jorge said in my defense._

 _Carter sighed._

 _"Fine, but don't charge headlong into danger trying to be a hero. Thom did that and now look at where you are."_

"Boss," _Jun sounded over the comms,"_ picking up a distress signal."

"Mayday mayday, this is Charlie three-six," a man's pained voice said," we were attacked by Covenant force. The Covenant is on Reach, I repeat the Covenant is on Reach."

 _"Troops?" Jorge asked, concern in his tone._

 _"We have to move and find the source of that distress call."_

"No disrespect, but don't we have more important things to do than round up strays?"

 _"Sir, Jun is right. We have to get to the Relay to assist Kat and Emile in taking back the comms station," I said._

 _"We don't leave people behind," Carter replied," if you see those missing troopers, let me know."_

 _"But sir-"_

 _"No buts, Six. If you were missing, I would at least try and find you."_

 _"Even if it meant the failure of the mission?"_

 _Carter turned his head to me and though all I could see was the visor, I could feel the glare he was giving me. After that, I stayed silent. I had always placed the mission above all else and this distraction could very well mean its failure. Yes, Kat and Emile were at the Relay, but if they died it would give the Covenant to reinforce their holding and we would be walking straight into a hornets' nest resulting in our unneeded deaths._

 _"Six, enough of us have already died. I would rather have more people alive than missions completed."_

 _I looked down. He was right in a way, but the missions were for the betterment of mankind. I always thought of that up until Halsey asked the question, are you a puppet or a SPARTAN?_

I opened my eyes to see the Combat Form struggling under my weight.

"Can you find a cure?"

 _"Unknown, however we could extract the parasite from the infected and attempt to repair the damage."_

"Fine, how do I knock it out?"

 _"It seems adequate amounts of pain shou-"_

 _SNAP_

I pressed my foot onto his arm with enough pressure to snap the bone causing another wave of screaming pain. It was enough to put both into a state of unconsciousness.

"Feather, can you carry him?" I asked, looking back to the Engineer who cooed in response. It hovered over and all of its tentacles wrapped around the limbs before lifting the person up.

 _"Be careful Noble! Even though this Reclaimer has not been fully infected, it seems the Flood is still able to control it!"_

"I could tell by its screams and smacks."

Seer didn't respond and we entered the mine. I heard a ding as my night vision went online and I could see the shaft going downwards leading into what appeared to be a carven instead of having a elevator. ONI may have been trying a little too hard to make it look normal.

But as we went down, the sounds of moans and whimpers much like the half-infected man grew louder till we arrived at the bottom. There, inside the carven that could fit four Scorpion tanks in all directions, was a mass of bodies in the center. They all appeared infected, but they turned their heads.

And screamed, "HELP ME!"

 **A/N: Oh, look, another cliffhanger! This time we're stuck with a bunch of semi-infected people much like Wallace Jenkins. If you're wondering how this is possible, it's the result of Forerunner imprisonment. Somehow, through cryo and age they can't fully convert someone and through enough willpower are able to control it for brief moments. I added this so Six isn't alone with two emotionless robots, a squid, and a voice.**

 **And Guest, thank you for your review! I'll try and fix the third-person thing when I can and as for the Meh part, keep in mind that Six isn't the first Human to be aware of the Forerunners. He's the first to know their names(maybe, Halsey mentioned that they had acquired knowledge from a previous race so she and ONI might know who the Forerunners are), but ONI Castle base was created to explore the Forerunner facility under the mountain.**

 **Anyways, thanks again for your review!**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Ensuring Survival

 _"Your Fear is 100% dependant on you for its survival."_

Dr. Steve Maraboli

"HELP ME!"

A dozen agonized voices pierced through my helmet and burrowed into my head, causing me to flinch. I took a step back, eyes widened, in a fear. This-what the hell? Handling one was only slightly terrifying, but a dozen men, women, and children all screaming at the same time? That's like a dozen bloodthirsty Brutes all wanted to wear my skin!

No, no time to be scared. These people need help!

Right as they try and tear us apart!

My breaths were shallow and fast as my mind rebooted. Tensed muscles became relaxed, the tightening in my chest loosened, and fear crawled into the doghouse to get courage. I mentally prepared myself for their screams by replaying the events of the first one I encountered. Oh boy, my ears were going to ring again after this.

I placed my DMR onto my back, feeling the weight of all three weapons pressing down, and held out a right hand to signal to the Knight not to interfere. I didn't need unnecessary deaths, only pain to knock them out.

"Seer, can you send something to pick up these people after I'm done?" I said just as the infected rose up.

 _"I am certain that I can send retrieval units."_

"Thanks," I said.

The group surged forth, screaming and wailing in such pain that I winced. I couldn't imagine the kind of agony they were in, but hopefully knocking them out would temporarily give them relief.

The group did not move as one and the children moved like cheetahs on sugar. I sighed asking why kids of all things had fallen prey to this. They were all around the size of a Grunt and mutated like any others expect their cries were much higher pitched than any other.

I stood still, waiting for the children to come close enough so I could lash out with bone shattering force as doubts roamed my mind. What if I actually kill these kids? But wouldn't they also like to be free of their insufferable pain?

 _"I just have to measure the force I'm putting in,"_ I thought, _" and hopefully not cause accidental deaths. You got this."_

Tell that to my shivering muscles and tightened chest.

The trio of kids launched themselves with drawn back tentacle-arms intending on whacking me. Both of my hands curled into fists and shot out to the one in the middle hitting it square in the chest. There was a snap and the infected kid flew backwards into the larger infected. The other two introduced their arms to my visor and my head bent back and I could feel my bones crack in protest.

The shields did flare up, absorbing the force and a glance at the meter showed it was a quarter gone. Huh, normally a hit like that drained all of the energy yet they were little so not much power was behind it.

The two kids dropped down and brought up their arms once again. I heard a swoosh of air and my eyes widened. No!

The Promethean mineralized in a blue flash behind them, bringing the flatside of its blade down onto the 'head' of a child while I grabbed one of the tentacles of the other and tore it off. Both proceeded to let a shriek shake the carven and falling to the ground, whimpering. And here I thought the Knight was going to kill one.

 _"Noble, have you sustained any injuries?"_

"No," I replied. My ears perked when the scraping of rocks reached them and I turned to look at the now flying infected. They really love jumping about don't they?

Whatever, three down, nine to go!

There was a swoosh of the air and a flash made me repeatedly blink till the blue light was gone. In front of me was the Knight and the Watcher hovering above it. A ball of energy swirled between its two 'legs' casting a line towards the front of the Promethean. On the edges, I saw a transparent energy shield much like the one the Jackals used and the Flood slammed into it. Each one caused the Knight to slide back despite digging its feet into the ground. Two then went around either side and leaped.

I backstepped half a foot and saw the very tips scratch down on my visor. Before they could recover, I grabbed the largest tentacle of either one and grunted as I ripped them off with much more force than the children. The end result was the same however. Screams of pain, then falling down in agony.

Seven now!

"Aghhh!"

I looked up to see a infected flailing about as it fell straight down to me. I took a step back and lifted my arms. When its body perfectly landed on them, I let out a oaf. The tentacle-root parts of the Flood then pointed to me as if asking, _"why the fuck did you save me?"_

Well, I didn't want the actual person exploding into fleshy bits now did I? I proceeded to tilt my arms down and let it roll off before kicking its side. The infected's ribs snapped in response and I was rewarded with another scream. My ears started ringing, clearly annoyed at having to overwork themselves.

Not like I'm annoyed by it either!

But anyways, six more to go!

 _Squish-squash_

I heard the telltale sign of a Flood trying to sneak up on me. I whipped around to face a giant of a man, larger than most of NOBLE, somewhere around seven feet.

"KILL ME!" It roared in my face as it delivered a tentacle-arm to it as well.

A metallic thud bounced about in my helmet and I felt my muscles tighten in response to the sudden lost of balance. Too bad they weren't faster, as evidenced by my fall and another thud merrily bouncing about when I hit the stone floor. A irritated growl came and I turned myself onto my back in time to get another roar as the large infectee jumped onto me. It raised its claws and naturally I brought up my arms in a cross in front of my face.

I cried out when it swiped, claws slicing my arms, and the shield alarms blared finally causing my ears to bleed.

I thrust my crossed arms in retaliation, putting as much force behind them as I could. The resulting howl grew slightly fainter as it backed off and I scrambled to my feet. As I regained my balance, the Combat Form charged, throwing its tentacles at my right side. Time slowed to a turtle's pace allowing me to think clearly.

My right arm soared up, extending itself passed the claws in a attempt to hook the actual forearm itself while my left formed a fist and shoot straight into its lower abdomen. The sounds of flesh being torn and the crunch of bone let me know I had put in too much power.

Shit, I did not mean that!

The Infectee let loose a earth-shattering screech and fell off my fist onto the ground. Looking at my hand, green bits of flesh and dots of liquid covered my glove. Looking back at the person, I wasn't sure if it was even alive anymore as there was no whimper or movement.

As much as I hated it, I think I just killed a civ, even if it was a fungus-zombie. Though on the bright side, there were only five left!

Turning back around, I stood corrected. None were left.

The other five were all on the ground, moaning and groaning, around the Promethean. It blankly stared at me, unmoving.

"Seer, we got them all," I reported.

 _"Delightful! I can make calculations based upon their state and even if we do not revert them back to their pervious status, we will have information in case something of a similar nature occur!"_

"Got it."

I was about to start moving again when the clanking of metal and wet smacks echoed throughout the carven. It sounded as if it came from one of the shafts on the right and turning to it, I saw a form roughly the size of a SPARTAN-II. It stepped out and I let out a sharp exhalation of frustration. The full green armor was a dead giveaway.

It appeared similar to all other Combat Forms expect its left arm was entirely made out of hardened flesh or bone. To make it worse, I heard a lot more wet smacks.

"Uh, Seer, is there a way to destroy large amounts of Flood in a short time?" I said as me and the Promethean slowly started backing away

 _"One of the most effective countermeasures is sufficient amounts of fire."_

A chorus of distorted roars shook the mines.

"So either get a flamethrower or a very big, fiery explosion."

The shadowed forms of Humans, Elites, Brutes, and the popcorn-squid appeared from the darkness.

 _"I would not recommend a explosion underground."_

The infected SPARTAN led the swarm out of the shaft.

"I know, but it might just do the trick if we want to lose the Flood."

The ones that had weapons raised them.

 _"I suggest you run."_

"Great idea! RUN!"

I turned and ran towards one of the shaft openings with a swooshing sound and panicked burbling behind me. The shrieks of weapons echoed as I felt the heat of plasma and heard the whizz of bullets miss me instead smashing into the stone. I rushed into a shaft opening.

My mind was only focused on running to survive. I ran and ran, jumping over or sidestepping mining equipment. Sometimes a Flood Form would pop out to greet me with its weapon and it would receive a punch to the chest. I wasn't sure if it killed the fungus-zombie, but it did at least stun it and I continued fleeing the horde, though almost always I did hear the Promethean's own weapon go off and the sizzle that followed when the body was burnt into ash.

I didn't know how long I ran. Could have been minutes or hours, but eventually I slowed down still feeling the surge of adrenaline powering my muscles. Looking around, I saw the Knight and Feather, now empty of the infectee, behind me. The Watcher, I guess, was back inside the Promethean all nice and cozy. I was still in one of the tunnels leading downwards and it was thankfully devoid of any Flood or Covies.

"Seer, it seems we're in the clear for now, what's the current situation?" I asked as we followed the railway.

 _"The Flood severity has been reduced to forty-nine percent inside the Forerunner facility, but the surrounding area has increased to forty-percent."_

"Oh great, they've ate all they could inside and now they're going out to find more food."

 _"That is correct Noble. I must also ask the question of how you plan to utilize nukes when there are none left."_

"It's a rumor I heard."

 _"A rumor?"_

"Yep."

A moment of silence.

 _"YOU FOOL!"_

"My ears," I whimpered as my hands went up to the sides of my helmet. Seer's bellow of anger made them pop.

 _"WE CANNOT GO ON A RUMOR!"_

"Stop the yelling."

 _"NOBLE! WE CAN'T GO ON A FUCKING RUMOR!"_

"It's still worth investigating."

 _"Ugh,"_ I could hear Seer's groan of sheer annoyance, _"fine Noble. It is understandable as too why you don't want to warn the nearest Halo Ring."_

"Yeah and I also ask that you stop yelling. My ears are not liking me right now."

 _"I will stop then as to preserve your audio functions. However, now I must ask how is this rumor plausible?"_

"A warehouse somewhere near Castle base supposedly has unfinished nukes of somekind so we move in to see if it's true."

 _"Oh! That's is very much likely, I can attempt to locate it by utilizing the ONI database."_

"You have access to the ONI database?"

 _"Yes, I was able to transfer the appropriate data to Light as Feather so it could improve your armor."_

"Alright, can you hold till we get there?"

 _"Of course, Noble! Calculations-"_

"I just needed a yes or no," I interrupted Seer. It was starting to become slightly aggravating at all of its mentions of calculations and percentages. It seemed to mean well and had so far been a annoying kindness, expect for the whole Halo blasting all life away. Still, I was stuck with it.

 _"Yes Noble, I can maintain current position till you arrive!"_

"Got it," I said and began trudging along the railway. We eventually reached the bottom of the shaft. I glared at what I guessed to be a six-inch thick steel door with bolts inside the circle in the center indicting it was locked. Looking around, I saw the remains of yet another last stand and no bodies. However, I wasn't interested in that, but rather the control console embedded in the right wall.

I walked over to it and wiped away the dust to see that it was still online. I chuckled, somewhat happy that we finally got a stroke of luck in our recent series of misfortune.

Though a faint, echoing roar replaced that happiness with a groan. They followed us didn't they?

 _"Noble, sensors have detected large amounts of Flood inbound to your position!"_ Seer's panicked voice crackled over the comms. _"You must not allow them entry! I am sending in Promethean reinforcements to assist!"_

Of course they would follow us!

I spun around, eyes quickly scanning and soaking in the details of the defense I had at the moment. A bunch of decently intact sandbags that could last another assault, army weapons laying on the ground, and duel machine guns on either side. That could be used in a crossfire! The shaft could fit three or four upright Brutes and while still not all that narrow, the Flood love their jumping and charging.

"Seer, is there a way your Prometheans can use the machine guns I'm seeing?"

 _"A Watcher should be adequate."_

I wasn't even going to ask, just another thing to add to my fledgling weird list.

"Copy, we'll hold them off!" I said as I grabbed the right gun's handles. As much as I wanted to avoid fighting a SPARTAN-led Flood, I knew they would just keep banging on the door till it was knocked down. They were persistent in that regard. Eh, I partially wondered if this was how Elites felt at us Humans. A pestering cockroach that just keeps on coming and stealing all the food no matter what.

The faint shrieks and roars got closer and the first one I saw was none other than the SPARTAN. I was ready to take it on, though where the hell did it get that Energy Sword?

 **A/N: Hmm, here's a new chapter! Anyways, this one took longer as I had some trouble with the Flood fight scene and I took a break. It's also not grim and dark because I want to keep that T rating even if the mods don't seem to enforce shite on this site. As for the semi-infected Flood, they won't be forgotten. Seer plans on retrieving them, somehow.**

 **Also, thanks for reading this! Don't forget a review either telling me what I did well at, the meh parts, and the horrible sections. It'll help me as a writer to provide better content.**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Defend the Castle!

 _"The enemy is there and I am going to attack him there."_

Robert E. Lee

I didn't know how the SPARTAN got a Energy Sword, but it didn't change the fact that it was about to get a belly full of lead. My fingers slammed down on the triggers of the gun and its starting whirr quickly gave in to a roar of fury. Bright golden streaks flew out towards it, smashing into its shield as it flared up to protect its user.

I growled. How the hell did the shields even still work for these things? If I could figure out how than it would make it easier to tear them apart, but as of right now, without the answers, it could wait.

The SPARTAN howled as dozens of other howling Combat Forms flooded down the tunnel and the shrieks of weapons shortly followed. Another machine gun roar added to the chaotic storm of sounds and a glance showed the Watcher had returned, floating above the other MG with blue tendrils wrapped tightly around the handles. How those threadlike appendages were able to steer the wheel, I had no clue unless they were fatter back then.

The horde charged with the SPARTAN being enveloped by them, and I kept firing. Each bullet found a mark because it was so tight-packed. I also heard the Promethean's weapon fire and I saw zooming blue rays disintegrated one Form after another into golden ash. However, the Flood kept coming. Everytime when one of their numbers fell down, a Infection Form jumped down from the ceiling swarm and embedded itself into it. When one exploded or turned to ash, the gap was filled by a new one.

Not to mention all of the chaos around me caused my ears to intensify their ringing. At this rate, they might just simply give up working entirely. Still, my mind kept telling itself that every sense was needed in order to survive. My feet were dug in to help reduce the recoil, eyes scanned for the most dangerous Form, and ears were alert for the telltale wet smack of the Flood around us.

But despite our best efforts and a hail of projectiles, they closed the distance and inch by inch, my heart pounded faster and faster till it felt ready to explode. It was happening again, a last stand with only certain death! My muscles tensed and breathing became rapid and shallow. I narrowed my eyes as the root-tentacles became distinct. They were close enough to jump now and they could overwhelm us with sheer number.

Fuck fuck fuck! The last one would only end in my death! I could enjoy the mysterious afterlife or comforting blackness. If I died here, there was no doubt that a Infection Form would burrow into my chest and turn me into one of those things! I was not going become a meat puppet for the Fungus Zombies!

I could use the Fuel Rod Cannon I had aquired, but the shockwaves could cause a cavein. Yet it might help thin the horde so hesitantly I stepped away from the machine gun and snatched it off my back, putting it on my shoulder and aimed. If we were lucky, the cavein would block the Flood. If not, well at least they wouldn't be able to infect my flattened corpse.

I pressed the trigger and it pushed back as a green blob was birthed by the barrel. It struck the front ranks engulfing and vaporizing them in plasma. Thankfully, despite the cave shaking, it did not collapse on us. Unfortunately, that also meant the Flood were not crushed either.

I readied to fire again when a howl erupted and the SPARTAN jumped through the mist, sword raised and ready to slice. I quickly raised the Cannon and inhaled. This was not going to feel good for me.

The weapon jerked as another blob shot forth and I let out a oaf as the force knocked me down. I groaned. I keep getting smacked about. When was this going to end?

I flipped onto my stomach and pushed myself up hearing the rock crack and sizzle. Looking over I saw the sword's duel blades embedded in the ground and following it revealed the owner to be the SPARTAN.

 _"Oh you have got to be fucking kidding me,"_ my mind growled. How could it not been sent flying backwards?! Did the IIs have stronger shields?

The SPARTAN's arm then tensed and yanked the sword out of the stone before turning to me. The blades flew up and I backstepped narrowly avoiding having a spike poking through my head. As it brought back its sword, I grabbed Elite Slayer and pushed the button. I slightly relaxed upon hearing its own hiss as the sword formed.

It sliced, the blades leveled at my neck, and I threw my own sword up catching the SPARTAN's between the prongs. The energy hissed as it twisted and turned its sword in a attempt to rip it out. I wasn't about to allow my head to be rolling around so I curled up my free hand into a fist and prepared to hit the chest area with all my might. Of course, it saw that and sent its tentacle-arm into the side of my helmet.

I felt my neck bend at the force and my fist reverting back to a hand and launch itself to grab the claws prevent the SPARTAN from trying to slap me further. This also meant I couldn't slap it.

The SPARTAN growled as we shifted about, trying to free out upper limbs. Wait, why didn't I used my legs then?

Apparently it was smarter than I originally thought and I felt a pressure push down on my groin region. Well, this is not going to feel good.

I let out a high-pitched sequel as the pressure suddenly increased tenfold. I thought that area was supposed to be protected!

But I wasn't going to fall to the ground writhing, I will not die on this dead planet!

Upon seeing that it wasn't working, the SPARTAN opted to instead kick that area much to my displeasure. The force and pain were enough to send me stumbling off.

I managed to balance myself and I looked at the SPARTAN. My eyes were drawn to its left stub while it stared at my left arm. Following its gaze, I saw my fingers were still wrapped around the now detached tentacle-arm's wrist. Huh, must have gotten ripped off when it kicked me off of it. Then looking back at the SPARTAN, it was rushing straight towards me with its sword drawn back.

Instinctively, I threw the tentacle-arm at its chest and thrusted my own sword sticking it into its lower abdomen. I smiled as the shields flared up only to pop, dissipating its protective energy and leaving the SPARTAN unprotected. The metal sizzled and melted as the blades pierced through. However, despite the pain that would normally ensue, I heard a energetic swoosh and slightly turning my head, my eyes widened upon seeing the SPARTAN's own sword slicing the air towards me.

I released my grip on the hilt and my legs tensed, readying to jump back. However, the blades struck and I could hear the metal crackle and feel the heat seep in. Reflexively my left hand launched out with fingers outstretched and latched onto the SPARTAN's arm in a attempt to push it away before the blades could bake my skull. The other hand was up against the Flood's chest trying to shove it off. With all the strength I could muster, I forced it staggering off.

Before it could recover, I glanced to the Flood horde wondering why they haven't overwhelmed us yet. Surprisingly, both the Knight and the Watcher were holding them at bay. The Watcher was still manning the gun while its owner kept firing and when one got too close, it would skewer it.

As for Feather, the Engineer wasn't in my sight, but I could hear its cowardly burbling off to my right. Good, that meant the upgrade creature was still living.

Turning my attention back to the still-recovering SPARTAN, I quickly looked for my sword which was directly in front of me. I scooped it up and by then, I heard the metallic scrap of boots. Looking up, I saw the Flood Form diving through the air. However, it didn't have its sword instead having its arm raised and by the time I had realized what it was going to do, its fist was already against my visor.

As the fist pushed against my helmet, my head bent back till I lost my footing and fell onto my back. The stone sent a reverberating wave of pain up and while my mind was busying with it, I saw the SPARTAN loom over me. Its hand opened and flew towards my neck and the next thing I felt was a monstrous grip around my neck, crushing my windpipe and I took a breathless inhale. Nothing. This thing was trying to strangle me!

I closed my right hand, readying it to break the SPARTAN's arm yet I suddenly felt my upper body being lifted off the ground slightly and being smashed back into it. A rolling wave of pain filled my head and this repeated again preventing me from hitting the SPARTAN. Again and again the process happened. Never once did the grip loosen however and I begun to feel tired as my body cried out for air and relief from the pain. Slowly darkness began eating away at the edges of my vision and I felt myself beginning to slip into unconscious. However, hit snapped me back to reality.

I didn't know exactly how long the SPARTAN merrily bashed my skull in, but SPARTAN IIIs could last four to six minutes without oxygen before blackening out. So somewhere around that time.

After what I guessed to be the fiftieth time, I heard several faint swooshes of air and a crunch-snap. The grip disappeared and I gasped, breathing in soothing air into my burning lungs. Color replaced the graying world and I was met with the Promethean throwing away the SPARTAN's corpse like a empty, battered rifle.

Actually, scratch the Promethean part. It was a Promethean.

When I sat up, I saw half a dozen Knights shooting away at the dwindling Flood. Their combined fire incinerated most while leaving dismembering the rest.

I was not going to be outdone by a bunch of metal contraptions! I got up, retrieved Elite Slayer, and jumped into the fray.

By the time I did that, the only Flood left were mostly scurrying Infection Forms trying to jump onto the semi-intact corpses that remained. There were still a few Combat Forms firing at us, but with plasma cutting through their bodies, they fell.

As I yanked my sword out of the last Form, my ears perked up when whimpers and anguished cries reached them. They're just now arriving? At least they didn't come when we were butchering their mindless comrades. I turned to face the rushing semi-infected.

"Capture, don't kill," I commanded the Knights. I didn't know if most would follow that order, but that distinct swoosh of air sounded behind me and from the blue flashes that appeared in back of them stepped out the Prometheans. They didn't shoot or let out their roars, instead all bringing up their swords in a guard and charged using sheer mass to barrel through them.

One less loose thread to sew in now!

I turned back to the doors.

"Seer, the area is clear, can you open the door?"

 _"Great news, Noble! Another Reclaimer has been found thirty minutes before and is currently on her way to open the gates!"_

She? It could mean Doctor Halsey, but it could have meant someone else.

However, the doors hissed open, sliding back into either wall and out stepped a elderly woman flanked by two more Prometheans. Her dulling blue eyes still had sparks of cold intelligence and snow-white hair had bits of ash struck to it making it appear similar to birch bark. She proudly strode forth, unfazed by the meaty mess we made and sidestepping any flesh piles. When she stood three feet away from me, she held up her head to meet mines.

"Dr. Halsey," I said.

"Noble Six, I had assumed you would have left."

"Complications, but both the package and the Pillar of Autumn have escaped."

"Good. Humanity has a chance now, though dimmed by the arrival of this… 'Flood'."

"And increased by the Forerunner artifacts so I say it's back at where it was."

"Ah yes, the…" Halsey turned her back to one of the Knights," Prometheans. There are only a hundred and one of them and Seer says there isn't a way to manufacture them without a device known as the 'Composer'."

"Composer?"

"Yes Six."

"So it uses the power of song to make the Prometheans?"

"Watchful Seer should have more information. However, we were interrupted when several Flood attacked us and we were forced to retreat. Coincidentally, we were near the entrance when Seer reported you."

"There's still Flood within Castle?"

"Yes."

"Then," I said as I pulled out my DMR," let's eliminate them."

"No need for the drama."

"Let me have my fun."

 **A/N: Howdy! Here's a new chapter before school starts. As a result of that, updates will be slower, but still nonetheless updated. Also, with me working on another story soon, the time between chapters might be away. I don't know, maybe two or three weeks now, but it shall be worked upon when I have the time! Anyways, have fun!**


	7. Going on Hiatus

**Life's a bitch.**

 **A clingy one at that.**

 **Give me until Oct. 30 or 31 to update the stories XCOM: Remnant and Halo: Escaping the Flood. If it's still clingy, I'll let you know.**


	8. Update

I may have bitten off more than I could chew. Trying to write four separate stories, even in a order, is somewhat taxing and time consuming. On top of that, real life hasn't let me go yet so as of now, Halo: Escaping the Flood is going on a Hiatus. For how long, I don't know. I will return to it one, hopefully, and by then my storytelling skills should have improved.

Anyways, I thank you for your support and patience with this story. I'm really sorry that this happened, but hey, life is a clingy bitch that loves to cling. Just gotta get it off of me somehow.

This is Archwar, signing out!


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